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That Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869–1948) is one of the
outstanding moral and political thinkers of our times is accepted
world-wide. But was he an economist? Anjaria writes: ‘When the
history of economic thought in India in recent times comes to be
written Gandhi’s name will certainly occupy a place of honour in
it.’1 But he hastened to add: ‘It does not matter in this context whether
we call Gandhi an economist or not; that is, partly at any rate, a
question of definition of terms.’2 A study of Gandhi’s economic
ideas must in some way come to grips with this question.